如果没有专利保护，小公司很难收回研发成本。

Rúguǒ méiyǒu zhuānlì bǎohù, xiǎo gōngsī hěn nán shōuhuí yánfā chéngběn.

Without patent protection, small companies find it hard to recover their R&D costs.

这家公司为它的新技术申请了国际专利。

Zhè jiā gōngsī wèi tā de xīn jìshù shēnqǐng le guójì zhuānlì.

The company applied for an international patent for its new technology.

这款药的专利已经到期，现在很多厂家都可以生产了。

Zhè kuǎn yào de zhuānlì yǐjīng dàoqī, xiànzài hěn duō chǎngjiā dōu kěyǐ shēngchǎn le.

The patent for this medicine has expired, so now many manufacturers can produce it.